Airbus To Test Flying Car By End of Year

Since the dawn of the first automobile, human beings have hoped to take the incredible convenience and ease of a car’s mobility and translate it to the skies. With the advent of the airplane, humans were finally able to do the impossible: fly. And with these two incredible technological innovations at our disposal, we have long wanted to combine the two, allowing us to hop into our own individual vehicles, turn the key in the ignition, gain some speed, and take off. The flying car has been dreamt of for decades. And now finally, in 2017, it may become a reality.

It comes as no surprise that technology is advancing rapidly. And with the rapid advancement of technology, humans have been able to create some of the most amazing inventions in history. A recent focus has been on the automobile. Several companies are looking to make self-driving cars. But one company in particular is looking to the sky. Airbus, one of the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers, is designing a flying car. And it will apparently be ready to test by the end of the year.

According to a report from Reuters, the aircraft goliath is planning to test out their brand new flying car before the end of the year. The car is being created in hopes of decreasing gridlock on the highways and city streets. If that weren’t enough, the car is also being designed to be self-driving.

The company has recently been focusing heavily on urban mobility, starting a division named Urban Air Mobility last year. Airbus’ CEO, Tom Enders, noted that the company is looking to help the economy, as well as the roadways. “With flying, you don’t need to pour billions into concrete bridges and roads,” he said. Enders also mentioned the company’s seriousness on creating the car, saying, “We are in an experimentation phase, we take this development very seriously. If we ignore these [technological] developments, we will be pushed out of important segments of the business.” They are even attempting to make the car as environmentally friendly as possible, which is definitely a plus.

With companies such as Airbus harnessing today’s technology, we may be getting closer to the age of the flying car.